Juniors Matt Schner and Romin Williams combined for 54 points in leading the Emory men's basketball team to a Wednesday evening victory at LaGrange College. The No. 2-ranked Eagles raised their overall record to 8-0 following a 98-89 decision over the Panthers who slipped to 1-4.

Schner tied his career high with 30 points, 17 coming in the second half, ending the evening 12-of-21 from the floor, sinking a pair of triples along the way, while converting all four of his free throws.  Williams, rang up 24 points, 16 of which came during the final 20 minutes, hitting six-of-19 field goals and 12-of-14 from the charity stripe en route to his fourth performance of 20 or more points this season.  Junior Lawrence Rowley chalked up his third straight double-double with 20 points and 10 rebounds while Nick Stuck rounded out the double-figure scorers with 13 points.

Holding a 56-55 lead, a crucial 12-2 Emory spurt that saw Williams produce six points and freshman Greg Lawrence four, pushed it to a 68-57 advantage with 12:42 left in the game.  A bucket by Schner kept the Eagles ahead by a 73-60 count, but LaGrange responded with seven unanswered points to creep to within six with 8:54 on the clock. The Panthers stayed within striking distance, down five with 6:38 remaining, but Emory scored six of the game's next eight points, three coming by Williams, to claim an 84-75 lead. After a Panther free throw, a pair of makes from the line by Williams followed by a Schner basket extended the Eagles' cushion to 88-76 with 2:47 left. 

For the contest, Emory was successful on 48.6 percent (34-of-70) from the floor compared to LC's mark of 45.9 percent (39-of-85).  The Eagles made the most of the trips to the foul line, draining 27-of-33 attempts, while the Panthers sank seven-of-17.  Emory held a decisive edge on the glass, 56-35, with Schner pacing all players with 12 boards.  Emory has now scored 90 or more points on five occasions this year.

In a high-paced first half, Emory took a 47-45 edge into halftime, shooting 48.6 percent (18-of-37) from the and 76.9 percent (10-of-13) from the stripe.  The Eagles got off to blazing start, scoring the game's first 12 points, six coming from Matt Davet.  After a bucket by Rowley pushed the Eagles to a 15-4 cushion, the Panthers countered with an 8-0 spurt to draw to within three points with 14:46 left. LaGrange took its first lead of the game with just a shade under 12 minutes on the clock following a bucket by Kyle Brown.  From that point, the both squads traded punches for the remainder of the frame.  Trailing by a 38-36 count, Schner totaled nine of the Eagles' last 11 points of the stanza over the final 3:57, the last two coming on a layup with 39 ticks on the clock that closed out the scoring for the half.  Schner led all players with 13 first-half points, connecting on five field goals in nine tries, including one triple, and both of his free throw opportunities.  Rowley chipped in 11 points while Williams and Stuck each registered eight.

Emory returns to action on Saturday (Dec. 7) when it hosts Piedmont in a scheduled 4:00 pm tip.